Lifting cradle for demountable automobile bodies



April 10, 1934. FlTcH 1,953,957

LIFTING CRADLE FOR DEMOUNTABLE AUTOMOBILE BODIES Filed Oct. .24; 1952 2Sheets-Sheet 1 A 27 FIG. 1 27 [0 I 20 O 59 Z 40 7 H7 l5 f 5 b 4 4 j r-|i X 17 50 b b I Q I I I gwuc/wbob v I mam. a 7% April 10, 1934. B FITCHi 1,953,957

LIF'IING CRADLE FOR DEMOUNTAB LE AUTOMOBILE BODIES Filed on. 24, 1932 12 Sheets-Sheet 2 v awe/MM FIG. 5 v m 459 m VQZW Patented Apr. 10, 1934UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LIFTING CRADLE FOR DEMOUNTABLE AUTOMOBILEBODIES Application October 24, 1932, Serial No. 639,282

15 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for connecting a suitable hoistingmechanism to a demountable automobile body, which may be loaded withpackage freight. The invention is in the nature of a rectangular cradlehaving four depending members adapted to engage four hooks at the edgesof a demountable body, there being means for attaching a hoist to thecradle.

The demountable truck bodies in existence vary in width and in length.The hooks on the side of the body may be readily placed at a standarddistance from each other, notwithstanding variation in the length of thebody, but a difficulty arises on account of different widths of thebody.

While the variation in width is ordinarily not great, it is sufficientto prevent the use with different types of bodies of a cradle having theordinary depending shackles. It is not feasible to remedy the difficultyby extending the hooks of a comparatively wide body over the body roofthereof to meet a narrower cradle, or to spread outwardly the hooks of anarrower body to coact with a wider body, as this would introducestrains, since the hooks tend to bend into vertical planes when the bodyis lifted. Moreover, the engaging members of the lifting device, ifpositioned to engage inwardly bent hooks would be likely to injure theroof of the body, while outstanding hooks on narrower bodies would belikely to encounter obstructions in the handling or transportation ofthe body.

The present invention is concerned with a cradle adapted to take equallywell bodies of such different widths. To this end I provide arectangular frame having depending multiple shackles, an ou'terloop ofwhich may coact with the hook of a wide body and an inner loop with thehook of a materially narrower body.

In order to prevent the inner portion of the shackle, designed for thenarrower body, from interfering with the roof of the wider body, Iconstruct such inner portion so that its lower end is materially higherthan the outer portion.

I also provide suitable guiding means carried 45 by the cradle to centerthe cradle automatically, both longitudinally and laterally, as it islowered, so that that portion of the shackles intended for a particularbody to be engaged will come into juxtaposition with the hooks of suchbody.

My invention comprises means for carrying out the above features or someof them, as hereinafter more fully explained and definitely set out inthe claims.

In the drawings, Fig. l is an end elevation of my improved cradle, thisview showing also a,

demountable body engaged by the cradle and just deposited or about to belifted; Fig. 2 is a plan of one of the corner portions of the cradle;Fig. 3 is an end view of the portion of the cradle adiacent one of theshackles; Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-section through the transversemember of the cradle, as indicated by the line 4-4 on Fig. 2; Fig. 5illustrates a modified form of guiding means, being an end view similarto Fig. 3.

My cradle is composed of parallel side bars and two parallel end bars11, secured together, as by welding, and a suitable platform 12 securedto both the side bars and the end bars and serving to brace them. In theembodiment shown, the end bars 11 are set back some distance from theends of the side bars 10, as shown in Fig. 2.

To attach the load lifting devices to the cradle frame described, I haveprovided at each corner an upwardly extending eye 20, made by a U bolt,the legs of which pass downwardly through the side bars and end bars andbelow these bars receive suitable nuts 21, Figs. 3 and 4. In each of thefour eyes 20, I have shown an articulated hog rod comprising a lowermember having at its lower end an eye looping through the frame eye 20,and at its upper end an eye engaging the member 26. Two of the lattermembers 26 having upper eyes engaging a ring 27, and the two rings 27are adapted to be mounted on a single hook A of a hoist mechanism,indicated in Fig. l.

Projecting from the end bars 11, in a position parallel to the side bars10, are rigid blocks 14, the same being connected to both the side andend bars by gussets 15. Mounted in the projecting portion of the end barand in the horizontal block 14 is a cross bolt 30, on which is mounted adouble shackle 31, shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 5. This shackle has an outerarm 32 extending onto the outside of the side bar and an inner arm 33extending onto the inner side of the block 14, and an intermediate arm34, which lies between the side bar and block. The two arms 32 and 34suspend a loop portion 35 at one elevation, while the arms 34 and 33suspend a loop portion 36 at a higher elevation, as shown in Figs. 3 or5.

It results from the construction described that the rectangular cradleframe carries adjacent its corners four double shackles, the outer loopsof which are adapted to coact with hooks on the sides of a comparativelywide body, while the inner loops are adapted to coact with loops on anarrower body. This is illustrated in Fig. l, where the body B has hooksb, which the loop 35 may engage, while the narrower body indicated Tbody, and hence, one or the other by the broken lines B1, has hooks b1which may be engaged by the shackles 36.

It will be observed from Figs. 1, 2 and 5 that the inner shackle 36 is aconsiderable distance above the outer shackle 35, so that there is nodanger of the inner shackle fouling the roof of the body when the outershackle is being engaged. The position of the parts shown in Fig. 1 isapproximately the lowermost position of the cradle, and shows the innershackle well above the protecting strip b2, which runs along the roof ofthe body B. This lowermost position of the shackle is determined bysuitable guiding and limiting means on the cradle which will now bedescribed.

I provide suitable guiding members on the cradle which engage the topsof the body hooks, as well as the backs of such hooks for a shortdistance, to limit the downward movement of the cradle and also positionit longitudinally. Such guides are illustrated at 40 and in Figs. 3' and5 and each have the downwardly facing concave seat 41 to engage the topof the hook and the abutment 42 to engage the back of the hook. Thereare two of these blocks at each corner, one for the wide body and theother for the narrow body. The block for the wide body is preferablysecured by welding directly to the underside of the longitudinal bar 10,while the guide for the narrower body is preferably an integral portionof the block 14.

I prefer to provide a lateral guide to bring the cradle into accurateposition with reference to the width of the body, as it is lowered. Thislateral guide may take the form of a member located between the twolongitudinal guides 40 and 45, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, or two memberson the distant sides of the two blocks 40 and 45, as shown in Fig. 5. Inthe former case, the member 50 preferably comprises a pair of platestapered inwardly at their lower end to an intermediate edge, so that theouter side of the member may engage the inner side of the hook on thewider body, and the inner side of the member may engage the outer sideof the hook on the narrower body. This laterally positions the cradle asit is lowered.

In the construction of Fig. 5, the outwardly flaring projection 56 onthe, lower end of the outer plate 55 is adapted to engage the outer sideof the hook of the wider body, and the inwardly flaring projection 57 onthe inner plate 55 may engage the inner side of the hook on the narrowerbody.

It will be seen that whichever form of guiding construction is employed,as soon as the cradle is lowered it is automatically brought intoposition both longitudinally and laterally, irrespective of whether thebody is a wide body or a narrow of the loops of the double shacklesstand opposite the mouths of the body hooks in a position to enter suchbooks.

Any suitable means may be employed for opcrating the four shackles as aunit; the shackles may either automatically come into the hooks andthereafter be swung out of the hooks when the body is to be deposited,or the shackles may have an automatic tendency to move out of thehooksand be manually swung into the hooks when the body is to beengaged. In the drawings, I have illustrated the former construction,where the outer arm 32 of the double shackle extends about its pivot andthen turns longitudinal1yat'38 where it is provided with a counterweight39. The counter-weighted arms at each end of the cradle extend away fromthe cradle and thus tend to swing the shackles inwardly toward the bodyhooks. As the body hooks ordinarily face outwardly, or toward the endsof the body, it will be seen that as the cradle is lowered the shacklesbear against the hook and are cammed to diagonal position as the cradleis lowered, the counter-weights being raised until the shackle clearsthe point of the hook, when the counter-weight returns it to verticalposition, which brings it within the mouth of the hook.

To swing the counter-weighted shackles described out of the hooks, anysuitable mechanism connected to the four shackles may be employed. Ihave illustrated in Fig. 2, a link 60 connected to the shackle arm 38above the pivot thereof. Similar links may lead from the other shacklesand they may be all connected to suitable operating mechanism so thatthe four shackles may be swung as a unit against the tendency of thecounterweights, in other words, to spread the shackles to cause them toclear the hooks.

It will be seen from the above description that my cradle is verylargely automatic. narrow bodies may be handled indiscriminately, thecradle, when lowered over whichever body is presented to it,automatically engaging the same. Then, after the body has been raised,transported and deposited, the cradle may be readily freed therefrom. Ifdesired, the engagement and release may be reversed,that is, theengagement may be caused manually and the release be automatic upon thedeposit of the body.

Wide and ilk) It is desirable that demountable automobile bodies handledinterchangeably on highway trucks and railway fiat cars be as large asmay be conveniently employed on both installations,

because the larger the body the less in percentage is the waste spacenot occupied by the load. A maximum width of eight feet has been adoptedfor highway truck bodies in many States and such width is veryconvenient on flat cars. On

the other hand, there are in existence many def mountable bodies of a7-foot width. My cradle, as illustratedin the drawings, can handleeither of these bodies equally well, the inner-loops with the shacklesbeing set on a center six inches inside of the center of the outerloops. These dimensions are cited as an illustration of the advantage ofmy cradle to existing conditions. If conditions should change so thatstill wider bodies or still narrower bodies are presented, they might betaken care of by additional loops in my multiple shackle on the outsideor inner side, or both, of the two loops shown.

I claim:

1. A load lifting cradle comprising a frame, a set of load engagingshackles carried thereby, each shackle comprising a plurality of loopsrigidly connected together and depending to different elevations.

2. A cradle of the character described combars adjacent the end bars,each shackle having lid an inner and an outer loop, the outer loopdepending lower than the inner loop.

4. A cradle comprising a frame, four depending shackles pivotallycarried thereby and comprising inner and outer loops, and guides carriedby the cradle adapted to engage body hooks positioned for the innerloops and body hooks positioned for the outer loops.

5. The combination of a rectangular cradle frame, four dependingshackles pivoted thereto at the four corners of a rectangle and eachcomprising a pair of loops side by side and a pair of guides associatedwith each shackle adapted to engage the top and back of a hook withwhich the shackle is to cooperate.

6. The combination of a frame, four double shackles pivoted thereto,each providing a pair of loops side by side, and a depending membercarried by the frame in line with the space between the two shackles,the outer face of the member being adapted to form a guide for the outerloop and the inner face of the member to form a guide for the innerloop.

'7. The combination of a rectangular frame, four double shackles pivotedthereto, each providing a pair of loops, a lateral guide carried by theframe in line with the space between the two shackles, the lower portionof the guide being bevelled inwardly to an intermediate region.

8. The combination of a cradle frame, four shackles pivoted thereto atthe four corners of a rectangle, each shackle comprising a pair of loopsside by side and adapted to engage hooks on wide bodies or on narrowbodies respectively, a pair of lateral guides carried by the cradle foreach shackle, one of the guides being adapted to engage the inner sideof the narrower body hooks and the other guide to engage the outer sideof the wider body hooks.

9. A cradle comprising a frame, four depending multiple shacklespivotally carried thereby and comprising inner and outer loops, andmultiple lateral and longitudinal guides carried by the cradle adaptedto engage body hooks for a narrow body for the inner loopsand body hooksof a wider body for the outer loops.

10. The combination of a cradle frame, means for suspending it, multipleshackles carried by the frame and each comprising a plurality ofU-shaped loops side by side with upwardly extending arms, each armbetween loops being common to such loops and all of said arms beingattached to the frame.

11. The combination of a cradle frame, means for suspending it, boltscarried by the frame, and double shackles, each providing two loops withthree upwardly extending arms, all of said arms being mounted on thebolt.

12. The combination of a rectangular frame composed of side bars and endbars secured together, four double shackles arranged adjacent thecorners of the frame and each providing two loops with two extreme armsand an intermediate arm, one of the extreme arms and the intermediatearm extending onto opposite sides of a side bar of the frame, and theother extreme arm extending alongside of a frame projection, a boltmounted in such side bar and projection for pivoting said three arms tothe frame, and means for suspending the frame.

13. The combination of a cradle frame comprising parallel side bars andend bars secured to the side barsat right angles thereto, a projectioncarried by one of said bars substantially at right angles thereto, adouble shackle, each having two extreme arms and an intermediate armconnected at the bottom by arcs at different elevations, theintermediate arm lying between the projection and the bar alongside ofit, the extreme arms lying on opposite sides of the projection and thelast mentioned bar, and means for pivoting the three arms to theprojection and the bar alongside of it.

14. The combination of a cradle frame 30mprising side bars and end barssecured thereto to make a rectangle, upwardly extending eyes adjacentthe junction of the side bars and end bars, means for attaching liftingmechanism to the eyes, projections carried by the end bars parallel withthe side bars, four double shackles each having two extreme arms and anintermediate arm, the intermediate arm lying between the projection andthe side bar, the extreme arms lying on opposite sides of the projectionand side bar, and a bolt passing through the projection and side bar andthe three arms, whereby the double shackle is effectively pivoted to theframe and supported thereby.

15. A load lifting cradle comprising a frame and a set of load engagingshackles pivotally carried thereby, each shackle'comprising two loopsrigid with each other and lying in the same plane, one loop dependingfarther than the other loop.

BENJAMIN F. FITCH.

